There is more incentive for the Jets in tonight’s pre-season matchup against the Giants than there usually is for a mere exhibition game, and it has nothing to do with bragging rights.

The Jets were, nearly across the board, awful in last Friday night’s 10-9 win over the Eagles, and the players have been salivating to get back out onto the field for another game to erase the memories of the poor effort from Bill Parcells’ mind.

Because you can be sure that the Eagles game gave Parcells a lot of fodder for some serious ranting this past week on the practice field and in meeting rooms.

Players and assistant coaches alike incurred the wrath of Parcells, who was disgusted with what he saw, particularly on special teams, against the Eagles.

So now, at 8:00 tonight, enter the Giants for the annual pre-season across-the-Hudson matchup. The Giants, who are 2-0 and have looked extremely sharp in preseason, particularly on offense, should have the Jets’ attention more than the lowly Eagles.

“After last week’s game, I think we were all upset with the way we played,” Vinny Testaverde said. “Certainly, Coach let us know how he felt. We had a good week of practice, certainly better than the previous one, so we hope that we can go out and play better – more like coach is expecting us to play and should play.

“The Giants are a very physical football team and they’re playing well right now,” Testaverde went on. “This is a good third pre-season game. It’s going to be very physical, and I think it’s a game that we need.”

Through two pre-season games, Testaverde has looked nothing short of regular-season-ready in his limited playing time.

Starting both preseason games and playing into the second quarter, Testaverde has completed 22 of 27 passes (81.5 percent) for 277 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT and a 118.7 efficiency rating.

He and the first-team offense, in an effort to get even sharper and in regular-season condition, will likely play into the third quarter tonight before giving way to Ray Lucas and Rick Mirer, both of whom are vying for the No. 2 job.

“I feel very comfortable with what we have in,” Testaverde said of the offense. “I feel very confident in the offensive line, the way they’ve been protecting in the pass. I think there’s much to be done, but we’re moving right along in a good direction.”

Because Testaverde is one of the crown jewels of this offense and any loss of his services this season could spell doom for the kind of year the Jets are expecting to have, there have been questions about the occasional icing Testaverde has been doing on his right elbow during some practices, but he passed it off as merely preventative medicine.

“When the offense gets their work done before the defense, I just do it out on the field rather than taking 20 minutes inside,” he said. “It’s a preventative type of thing. It’s a wear-and-tear thing. The better I take care of it now, the longer it’ll last.”

Parcells, sounding very comfortable and confident in Testaverde, indicated that, with this being Testaverde’s second year in the system, his quarterback could be even better than he was last year.

“I think he understands things,” Parcells said.

Asked if he feels a major influence in Testaverde’s rise to respect and stardom after being so maligned throughout his pre-Jets career, Parcells said, “I don’t really feel I have all that much to do with it. He’s doing it. [Quarterbacks coach] Dan Henning’s doing it. I would say I’m a distant third.”